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MichaelGA wrote:@RJ Bowfin are a fairly common aquarium species so I would speculate that they are simply survivors / releases by owners who found they got too big! (just my guess though)
These aren't Oscars... These would be an absolutely vicious aquarium species. I don't remember seeing them offered back in my Aquarium keeping days.
@tr21chis - anyone can disagree with me or my guess, I won't take any offence, it's an opinion.
What makes you so sure that I'm wrong?
This isn't their native territory ( the Ottawa River) or else they would be quite common, they are incredibly strong survivors (can't argue with something that has been around 175 million years) and commonly grow to 6" plus in the first year (even in a tank).
I've caught them in a hoop net set in the Detroit River before It was a really big specimen, with interesting colouring. The belly was lime green. The net set was in a marshy inner bay of Peche Island. I suspect if you fish the channels of marshes and marshy bays of the Ottawa you may happen across them if they are here. I don't know how common they would be though. My book "Fishes of Canada's National Capital Region" by Allister and Coad (1974) doesn't list them, and they have just about everything found in this region in there.
I've spent countless hours in the shallows of the Ottawa River around the city and have NEVER seen one. In the lakes I have caught them you do see them, fairly often. They are prolific in the St. Lawrence that's for sure.
@RJ - agreed they aren't guppies and they wouldn't be listed under Bowfin.
They would likely be Amia calva or some other kinda cute name usually a native or other historical name most likely:
German Bass
Brindle
Beaverfish
Scaled Ling
Cypress Trout
Choupique
Dogfish
The Bowfin (Amia calva) is one of the more interesting and sought after North American fish species amongst aquarium hobbyists. Their ancient lineage combined with a sleek body, many teeth and aggressive demeanor make them a sought after specimen for hobbyists running larger temperate water aquariums.
RJ wrote:I've spent countless hours in the shallows of the Ottawa River around the city and have NEVER seen one. In the lakes I have caught them you do see them, fairly often. They are prolific in the St. Lawrence that's for sure.
Lakes I have caught them in. Dog and Beverley.
RJ
Which brings me full round to my guess (hypothesis) - escapees.
They are a darn tough fish afterall.
Admittedly still a hypothesis - read the entry on Brian Coads page about their distribution, you'll likely agree.
Distribution
Found from the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain drainage of southern Québec westward around the Great Lakes in southern Ontario as far as Minnesota. In the south it reaches Florida and Texas. There are no specimens in a museum collection definitively from the NCR. Halkett (1906) mentioned two specimens from the Ottawa River in the Fisheries Museum, Ottawa and Prince et al. (1906) also reported two specimens in the Museum from the Ottawa River (presumably the same two fish) but did note they may not have been caught near "the district". Bergeron and Brousseau (1982) and Bernatchez and Giroux (2000) map this species within the NCR but may have based this on Prince et al. (1906). However competent fishermen familiar with a wide variety of fishes have reported it from Britannia in the late 1940s, Rockland; and even below the Parliament Buildings, all in the Ottawa River (J. McLoughlin, personal communication, 1986; D. Brunton, in letter, 1987; E. Hendrycks, personal communication, 2000). Chabot and Caron (1996) map a specimen from the Ottawa River, near the mouth of the Gatineau River.
I Highlighted the Key Part - but please read the entire text...
Pretty cool fish really. I love flippin a jig at one. SO Aggressive.
That article says
Bowfin are generally found living in heavily vegetated rivers, backwaters, swamps and lakes throughout the eastern half of the United States and Canada.
So they weren't introduced by aquarium owners I'd say.
I'm really confused now - I didn't say they were introduced to Eastern Canada or the USA... just the Ottawa River.
Are you now saying they are a Native Species to the Ottawa River? You just said that you haven't ever seen them in the Ottawa River.
I even posted the generally accepted distribution map... that doesn't include the Ottawa River.
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Anyway - to catch a Bowfin in the Ottawa River is going to be really hard as they are scarce as hen's teeth.
Anecdotal evidence and reliable reports say they exsist in the Ottawa River, regardless of how they got there.
Lots of great replys ! As it turns out my buddy Noel is working for Brian and has already contributed to the great website.
Here are his instructions.
Wanted – a specimen of a bowfin from the National Capital Region for the collections of the Canadian Museum of Nature. If you catch one, please freeze the specimen, record the date and location, then contact: Recherché – Un spécimen de poisson castor de la Région de la Capitale du Canada pour la collection du Musée canadien de la nature. Si vous attrapez un tel spécimen, congelez-le, notez la date et l’emplacement de la prise et contactez :
Noel Alfonso, Canadian Museum of Nature / Musée canadien de la nature
Last year on Dog lake we caught a couple bowfin fishing for panfish. Insane fight. While in the shallows I witnessed something really neat for the first time. Thousands of baby bowfin swimming around the boat, so many you can scoop them up with your hand. We scooped up a few handfuls with a bucket and gave them to my brothers managers kids who were out fishing with us that day. They even took home a few for the aquarium lol.
Tip-up wrote:Last year on Dog lake we caught a couple bowfin fishing for panfish. Insane fight. While in the shallows I witnessed something really neat for the first time. Thousands of baby bowfin swimming around the boat, so many you can scoop them up with your hand. We scooped up a few handfuls with a bucket and gave them to my brothers managers kids who were out fishing with us that day. They even took home a few for the aquarium lol.
Laws and rules
You need a licence to transport live fish or spawn (excluding baitfish) taken from Ontario waters.
[SNIP]
These regulations protect Ontario fisheries by preventing:
the unauthorized introduction of native species into new waters
the spread of invasive fish species, fish parasites and fish diseases
These would be an absolutely vicious aquarium species. I don't remember seeing them offered back in my Aquarium keeping days.
It was a really big specimen, with interesting colouring. The belly was lime green. The net set was in a marshy inner bay of Peche Island. I suspect if you fish the channels of marshes and marshy bays of the Ottawa you may happen across them if they are here. I don't know how common they would be though. My book "Fishes of Canada's National Capital Region" by Allister and Coad (1974) doesn't list them, and they have just about everything found in this region in there.
